


The world will come around

by Why_so_drama



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Penguins captain Geno, post-retirement
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-03-12 03:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13538724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Why_so_drama/pseuds/Why_so_drama
Summary: Sid tucks Matty’s face against his neck and tries not to be annoyed at the sight of cameras pointed at them. The news of his arrival had leaked early.





	1. Chapter 1

Mario is waiting for them in the arrival hall and thankfully doesn’t waste much time with greetings, just herds Sid and his luggage trolley out to the car. They’re already starting to draw looks, so Sid tucks Matty’s face against his neck and tries not to be annoyed at the sight of phone cameras pointed at them. The news of his arrival had leaked early.

On the way to the Lemiuex residence, Mario lets Sid sleep, slumped next to the booster seat he had thoughtfully installed in the back. When they get there, Sid rouses enough to greet Nathalie, who takes Matty long enough for him to take a quick shower and unpack a little. They’ve put him in the room he had lived in all those years ago, and it’s surreal to be back there again, tucking his son into bed while promising they can call grandma and grandpa in the morning.

Sid is on the verge of passing out himself when his phone buzzes with a text message. He squints at the screen and smiles.

**_Welcome back ))))))))_ **

 

—

 

Sidney Crosby retired as a Pittsburgh Penguin, multiple time Stanley Cup champion, and holder of more than a few records. He didn’t plan to have a quiet retirement. There was a developmental position waiting for him in the Penguins organization, but for reasons that were never made clear to the public, he had ended up going back to Cole Harbour. He continued to run his hockey school, and was occasionally seen with a toddler eventually revealed to be his son. Speculation ran rampant, but his life outside hockey, as always, remained on lockdown. 

Back in Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin continued to captain the Penguins into the playoffs every season, and once even back to the Stanley Cup final before losing a hard-fought game 7. The annual crowing about not being able to get it done without Crosby didn’t seem to bother him.

Geno seems as happy as anyone when Sid finally returns to Pittsburgh to take up the development post. After the initial text, however, Sid doesn’t hear from him much. He’s pretty busy himself, talking to the front office about his work schedule, making his house livable again, and looking into the best place for Matty to start school.

The move from Cole Harbour is a big deal for Matty, who doesn't like the upheaval of his routines. He misses their house and his grandparents, and sometimes asks Sid when they’re going home again, even after Sid does his best to explain that they’ll be living in Pittsburgh for most of the year now. Matty does get excited about meeting the team, though, because hockey is as much a part of his life as it is Sid’s. He’s met people like Flower and Tanger and Duper, but only knows most of the current Pens roster from either TV or peering over Sid’s shoulder during the occasional video call.

Sid himself is excited to see the team again, and to properly introduce them to his son. When the day finally arrives, he’s up early and packing their bags, which includes Matty’s skates, stick and helmet. It’s not family skate, more of an opportunity for Sid to familiarize himself with everything again, but he knows that if there’s ice, Matty will want to be on it sooner or later. They take one of Mario’s cars and Sid spends the drive to practice rink answering Matty’s many questions.

“Is everyone gonna be there?”

“Yup. The whole team. It’s going to be a lot of people, okay? And maybe some cameras.”

“Okay.” Matty fiddles with the sleeve of his 87 jersey, a new one sent over by Dana. “Are you gonna wear yours?”

“I’m not sure yet. Might, if they ask me to.”

“Can I skate on the big rink? And shoot the net?”

“We’ll see.”

“Grandpa Mario said okay.”

“Oh, well, if _Grandpa Mario_ says so…”

They arrive before morning practice and are greeted by the coaching and equipment staff who are around. Sid introduces Matty to Dana, who leads them around the complex on a quick tour. It hasn’t changed too much, but Matty clings to Sid’s hand and takes in everything with wide eyes.

When they reach the locker room, Sid’s stomach does a strange little flip. He had known that his old stall in the middle of the oval is now occupied by Geno, but it’s still strange to see it in person. He notices the wall frieze of Penguin legends above the stalls now includes him, too.

Squashing down the wave of longing that goes through him, Sid crouches next to Matty and grins. “What do you think, buddy?”

“So cool!” Matty flaps his arms excitedly. “I wanna see the rink.”

Dana chuckles. “A Crosby through and through, huh. Did you bring skates?”

Sid leaves them to go through the gear bag and is wandering over to the stick rack when a familiar voice calls his name. He looks up to see Geno heading towards him, clutching a travel mug and looking like he just rolled out of bed, but also grinning widely.

“Sid!”

“Hey, G.” Sid smiles as he’s enveloped in a hug. It’s been a long time and he relaxes into it, laughing when he gets an extra tight squeeze. “You’re here really early.”

“Have to when I hear Sid come today,” Geno replies, keeping an arm still slung over Sid’s shoulder. “Where’s little Crosby? I’m look forward to meet. Oh! You meet my rookie, too.”

It takes a moment for Sid to realize that Geno isn’t alone. The rookie in question is a young man standing off to a side that he recognizes as Yakov Zima, arrived fresh from the KHL last season. He recalls that Zima is living with Geno, who’s helping him get used to Pittsburgh and the NHL in general.

“Pleased to meet you.” Zima’s speech is softly accented and he shakes Sid’s hand with a smile. Something about his long hair and neat beard reminds Sid of Tanger. “Never see Zhenya get up so early before.”

Geno makes a indignant noise into his coffee. “It’s very important day!”

Zima just laughs at him and heads into the locker room, dodging around Matty, who darts out clutching a roll of stick tape.

“Daddy! I- um…” He sees Geno and stops short, mouth actually dropping open a little before shuffling behind Sid and clutching at his pant leg.

Sid bends down to scoop Matty up and settle him on his hip. “Hey, it’s okay. You’ve met Geno before, remember? Over Skype?”

Matty nods shyly. “Hi.”

Geno smiles. “Hi, Matty. Good to finally meet.” He nods at the bright yellow tape in Matty’s hands. “You use on stick to practice with us?”

“Mr. Dana gave it.” Matty looks at Sid for permission, and Sid nods indulgently.

“Look good,” Geno declares. “Come, we share your papa’s stall.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After being sidetracked by several other things that we wanted to write, here's some more kidfic :D

The team trickles in over the next half an hour, all of them thrilled to see Sid. He greets old friends and new additions while Matty watches Geno tape a stick and tries to imitate, pausing to fist bump solemnly with everyone who comes over to say hello. 

“Figures your kid would be the politest one I've ever met,” Phil says to Sid, looking amused. He's still the familiar wry presence he’s always been, now with an A on his jersey.

“Give him a few weeks,” Sid replies, glancing over at a commotion by the door. It turns out to be the Swedes, smiles as bright as their hair, shoving at each other to get to Sid first. He laughs as the two of them descend together, wrapping him up in an enthusiastic hug. “Hey, good to see you guys.” 

“Is he like you on the bench?” Olli teases as he laces up his skates. 

“Skate, skate!” comes a chorus from some of the guys listening in, and Sid grins. Matty is a sweet-tempered kid for most of the part, but he does get pretty worked up over hockey. He's warming up to the team quickly, too.

“Something like that.”

Sid makes sure that Matty is okay with Geno before he goes to say hello to the coaching staff. They’re happy to see him, and he gets a few gentle chirps from Rex and Gonch about being unable to stay away. Sully just claps Sid on the back after one of his firm handshakes and says that he’s welcome to join them on the ice. 

It means a lot when they both know that Sid’s job ultimately won’t have much to do with coaching the team. He takes a moment to just digest that, standing in the hallway outside Sully’s office until Dana finds him. He’s carrying Sid’s skates, freshly sharpened, and doesn’t say anything if Sid’s thank you sounds a little choked up. 

Sid goes back into the locker room to find Geno introducing Muzz. “Little Matty, meet Big Matty. You say he’s favourite player, right?”

Matty is absolutely starry-eyed, any shyness forgotten. “I wanna be a goalie like you and Auntaylor and Grandpa and Uncle Flower. But I like scoring goals too.”

Muzz’s eyes crinkle as he smiles. “That’s awesome, bud. You gonna take some shots on me today?”

“Can I?” Matty hops down from the stall seat and looks up at Sid. “Pleeease? Grandpa Mario _said_.”

Sid ruffles Matty's mop of dark curls. “Yeah. We should ask Coach first though, okay?”

Matty pumps his fist and turns back to Muzz, who asks if he'd like to see the goalie gear. “Yeah!”

He trots off and Sid finds himself drifting towards the door. There's no particular order of going out onto the ice for practice, but some things don't change. Rusty is the first one fully dressed and out, but stops beside Sid, smiling and holding out a gloved fist. Swallowing down a lump in his throat, Sid bumps it gently. 

Olli spots them and comes over to do it too. It seems to set off a chain reaction after that, with everyone lining up to get their fist bump before going down the hallway, even the new guys. Matty returns with a fully geared up Muzz, giggling when he gets a head pat with a glove, and waits next to Sid as the rest of them pass. 

Sid should have expected it when Geno comes last. There's a moment of hesitation, and then Geno initiates _their_ handshake. Sid doesn't have a stick to tap, but closes his eyes when Geno leans down to touch their foreheads together. It lasts a beat longer than it usually would have, and then Geno pulls away, looking down at Sid fondly.

Matty tugs at Sid's hand. “What’s that?” 

“We have special handshake,” Geno explains, and then raises an eyebrow at Sid. “What you waiting for?”

“Huh?”

Geno's smirks. “I'm always go out last, Sid.”

“Oh my god,” Sid mumbles, unable to stop himself from smiling. “You ass- uh. Fine.” 

He and Matty walk down the hallway, Geno behind them, and get a few cheers as they reach the rink. Sid steps aside near the door, huffing in amusement when Geno gives his ass a gentle swat before taking the ice. 

  


\---

  


It's still early enough in the preseason that practice is closed to the public. Sid and Matty watch from the bench for most of it, chatting with various rink staff that drop by to say hello. Near the end, Sully gives them the okay, so they go back to get their skates and sticks, and Matty puts on his pads. Most of the team are still hanging around when they return, either to do some extra work or to watch as Matty steps out onto the ice with Sid.

Matty takes a moment to find his balance, adjusting his helmet and gripping his stick, and then he’s off like a shot. There's more than one surprised _“whoa!”_ as he zooms past, turning neatly behind Jarry’s net and managing to snag a puck as he goes. 

“Good job!” Sid doesn’t bother hiding in his proud smile. Matty has been skating since the age of three, improving in leaps and bounds in the space of a year and a half. He likes going fast and stickhandling drills, but has yet to manage combining the two for very long.

He’s doing pretty well when Geno skates up, keeping pace with long lazy strides and tapping his stick on the ice. “Hey, Matty, pass.”

Sid is still hanging around the boards at the other end and can’t see Matty’s face properly behind the helmet, but he can imagine the stubborn look that crosses his son’s face. Passing the puck and letting others have a turn is still something they’re working on. He goes to catch up to them, ready with the familiar reminder he gives all his kids that hockey is a team sport, but stops when Matty actually passes to Geno. 

Then he puts on a burst of speed and turns so that he’s skating backwards like a defenseman, poking wildly at Geno’s stick. 

There’s some laughter and a few encouraging shouts. Zima calls out something in Russian, which makes both Geno and Gonch grin. Sid’s grasp of the language is still rudimentary at best, but he thinks it might be along the lines of _‘watch out for little penguin.’_

Predictably, Geno doesn’t go easy because it’s just a kid, doing a few fancy dekes before shooting the puck. Matty promptly whacks it away with a little too much enthusiasm, and it ends up hitting Schultzy, who just laughs and sends it down the ice as Geno makes a big show of being thwarted. 

Jake high-fives Matty and declares that it’s time for a shoot-out. Muzz squares up accordingly as a few of the guys form a line.

Geno skates over to where Sid is watching from near the bench. “See? He's okay after little bit. Hockey always help.”

It takes Sid few moments to realize that Geno is referring to a conversation from months ago, when he had called late one night and ended up listening to Sid fret about how Matty didn't seem to want to play with others. He wants to be surprised that Geno still remembers it, but they've come a long way from the first year back in Cole Harbour.

“Yeah,” Sid says, smiling. “Hockey always helps.”

They watch as Jake encourages Matty to go first. He takes a dramatic slapshot and Muzz flails convincingly as the puck slips beneath his pads. There are cheers and stick taps as Matty throws his hands up to celebrate. 

Geno nudges him. “Sid.”

“Mm?”

“If you want, come for dinner tonight? Me and Yasha cook.” 

Sid glances at him, definitely surprised this time. “Yasha?”

Geno huffs, likely because that’s the part Sid chose to focus on. “Yakov, Yasha,” he elaborates, tilting his head towards Zima. “He live with me, I tell him to go if you not want. Just come, bring Matty.”

It’s not like they have huge plans for dinner. Matty will want to tell Mario about his day, but he probably wouldn’t mind going to Geno’s instead. Initial shyness at meeting in person aside, Matty seems to like him. 

And Sid, well… Sid has missed him. 

“Yeah, okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> We're around on [tumblr](https://why-so-drama.tumblr.com/).


End file.
